An open letter to the Arsenal Board (19/4)
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gooner.ed
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An open letter to the Arsenal Board (19/4)
usual thread starter... there are mixed feelings about this one. some want kroenke to come in, some are delighted the board are holding out and not selling. what does arsene think, though!
Last edited by gooner.ed on Thu Apr 19, 2007 11:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Graham Wilkinson
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I can't agree with this article.
I'm sorry that David Dein has gone as I think that he has done a lot for the club and has a genuine love for it. On the other hand, I can remember a time in the 1990s when he was regarded as public enemy number one.
What I do know is that we, the supporters, are a pretty fickle bunch, with rapidly changing views. One minute Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith is being criticised for having no interest in football. Now that she has has decided to put football above the chance of a quick (and large) buck, she, and other board members are being criticised for standing in the way of progress.
We are also pretty conservative and generally don't like change. So any changes on the Board unsettle us. However, I imagine we would all have felt pretty uncomfotablre if Dein had prevailed and the club had been taken over.
The simple fact is that we don't know if Kroenke would have been good for the club or not. Would he have put lots of extra money into the transfer kitty? Or would he have viewed the club as a cash cow to be milked?
On balance, looking over the course of the club's history, the board and its predecessors have served us well. We owe the Hill-Wood and Bracewell-Smith dynasties (which in the latter case includes the Carrs) a lot. Over many years they have looked after the interests of the club skillfully and with the minimum of fuss - and done so without regard to personal gain.
In this instance if they believe that the best interests of the club are served by rejecting Kroenke's overtures, I'm happy to trust their judgement. I'm sorry that David Dein disagreed and had to go but no individual is bigger than the club. Continuation of the present arrangements should provide stability which, we can only hope, will encourage AW to stay.
I'm sorry that David Dein has gone as I think that he has done a lot for the club and has a genuine love for it. On the other hand, I can remember a time in the 1990s when he was regarded as public enemy number one.
What I do know is that we, the supporters, are a pretty fickle bunch, with rapidly changing views. One minute Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith is being criticised for having no interest in football. Now that she has has decided to put football above the chance of a quick (and large) buck, she, and other board members are being criticised for standing in the way of progress.
We are also pretty conservative and generally don't like change. So any changes on the Board unsettle us. However, I imagine we would all have felt pretty uncomfotablre if Dein had prevailed and the club had been taken over.
The simple fact is that we don't know if Kroenke would have been good for the club or not. Would he have put lots of extra money into the transfer kitty? Or would he have viewed the club as a cash cow to be milked?
On balance, looking over the course of the club's history, the board and its predecessors have served us well. We owe the Hill-Wood and Bracewell-Smith dynasties (which in the latter case includes the Carrs) a lot. Over many years they have looked after the interests of the club skillfully and with the minimum of fuss - and done so without regard to personal gain.
In this instance if they believe that the best interests of the club are served by rejecting Kroenke's overtures, I'm happy to trust their judgement. I'm sorry that David Dein disagreed and had to go but no individual is bigger than the club. Continuation of the present arrangements should provide stability which, we can only hope, will encourage AW to stay.
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gunneretic
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This article is an unbalanced, ill-advised and ill-informed piece of trash. Yes, David Dein has done some good things for Arsenal - but he's also done some good things for David Dein in the process. His 'leadership' has been far from faultless too. Remember it was David Dein who wanted Arsenal to move from Highbury to Wembley but it was the other remaining members of the board that drove the project to build our excellent new stadium. Unlike other board members and major shareholders, Dein's wealth (or at least the vast majority of it) is directly tied to his Arsenal shareholding and he probably wants to realise the financial gains he would make if he sold some or all of his shareholding. He's very much a political animal and he probably thinks he can offload his shares to Kroenke but still keep a place on the board........but only if the American takes over. Fortunately the rest of the board have seen through his plan and stopped it. Kroenke has one thing going for him - money. He has no link to Arsenal, is not a fan, has no appreciation of the history and traditions of the club and a takeover by him would turn Arsenal into another Chavski. If that's what you want I suggest you switch your support to West London. As a minor shareholder I'll be giving my support to the current board. Good luck to them.
But isn't it also true that without Dein we would still be playing in a 38,000 capacity stadium built 70 years ago. Our ambition would be to qualify for the UEFA cup not the Champions League. Our main rivals would still be Spuds, Everton, Man City etc, rather than Man Utd, Real Madrid & Barca. The Hill-Wood family have served Arsenal well in the past, but maybe thats where they wanted to stay? Maybe we need to change to survive & grow? And any money Wenger has spent during his time here has been organic. The funding has come from clever dealing in the transfer market, lucrative sponsorship deals and ludicrous season ticket prices. I don't see any evidence of, for all their obvious wealth, the current Board of Directors coming up with the £££'s to compete for the big prizes. They have served us well, but their position also enjoys unbelievable privileges. So not selling their shares may not necessarily be evidence that they have the best interests of the club at heart! If Hill-Wood et al are so good for the club then lets let them prove it over the next few months!!Graham Wilkinson wrote:Over many years they have looked after the interests of the club skillfully and with the minimum of fuss - and done so without regard to personal gain.
I'll have to disagree with this article. Mr Dein has been with Arsenal since the early eighties and we have only moved into the new stadium last year. So to say that he has driven the club forward where the other board members is not entirley true. Surely we would have done this before?
Also as stated in Graham Wilkinson's reply Mr Dein wanted to move to Wembley but the board held out for Ashburton Grove. Who is to say that having Kroenke come in would make the club better.
In my opinion we are challenging the best teams in the world, not so long ago we beat Juventus, Real Mardrid and had the better of Barcelona with only ten men for the best part of the game. And did we not beat Man United this season, twice, hammer Liverpool and show Chelsea how to play football?
The board has shown that it can go forward prudently and without the help of investment from businessmen who are not natural football supporters.
Gunneretic makes a good point in saying that DD has helped Arsenal and himself in the process. He is now a player in world football but how much of that is because of his association with Arsenal. I for one am glad that Arsenal remain in the control of the board because they can show that they do some things in the right way. Instead of lambasting DD, they publicly thank him for his help and refuse to be drawn on the real reasons this came about. A touch of class.
Also as stated in Graham Wilkinson's reply Mr Dein wanted to move to Wembley but the board held out for Ashburton Grove. Who is to say that having Kroenke come in would make the club better.
In my opinion we are challenging the best teams in the world, not so long ago we beat Juventus, Real Mardrid and had the better of Barcelona with only ten men for the best part of the game. And did we not beat Man United this season, twice, hammer Liverpool and show Chelsea how to play football?
The board has shown that it can go forward prudently and without the help of investment from businessmen who are not natural football supporters.
Gunneretic makes a good point in saying that DD has helped Arsenal and himself in the process. He is now a player in world football but how much of that is because of his association with Arsenal. I for one am glad that Arsenal remain in the control of the board because they can show that they do some things in the right way. Instead of lambasting DD, they publicly thank him for his help and refuse to be drawn on the real reasons this came about. A touch of class.
Just one Question would Wenger be at Arsenal if it weren"t for Dein? I think we all know the answer to that.Just remember how low we were when Dein joined the board.We were light years away from winning anything.Some fans have very short memories we haven"t always had success and played brilliant football. Dein signed Bergkamp and brought Arsene to the club i think we owe him a debt of gratitude.
The comments within the article regarding Wenger needing around £50m to compete. I can't agree with that at all.
In the past Wenger has had money to spend and he simply hasn't spent a penny. I would hazard a guess that even if Wenger did have £50m to play with he would still continue with the policy he always has and look at investing in youth more than going out and buying a ready made world class player.
I do not agree at all that we need to sell up as a club in order to keep up with the likes of Manure. We have never had as much spending power as Manure and we always been competing. We are watching a team grow up. Once they are ready we will have a team that money can't buy.
Its the way Wenger does things. So why on earth sell the club to some American???
In the past Wenger has had money to spend and he simply hasn't spent a penny. I would hazard a guess that even if Wenger did have £50m to play with he would still continue with the policy he always has and look at investing in youth more than going out and buying a ready made world class player.
I do not agree at all that we need to sell up as a club in order to keep up with the likes of Manure. We have never had as much spending power as Manure and we always been competing. We are watching a team grow up. Once they are ready we will have a team that money can't buy.
Its the way Wenger does things. So why on earth sell the club to some American???
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into the red
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I agree with most of these replies. The 'open letter' is nonsense, and I would hate to its 'advice' followed. It assumes, like many fans, that we must compete with other billionaire club owners and welcome whoever has that kind of cash to take over. It is extremely short-sighted, and anathema to the tradition of Arsenal. Dein is revered for one thing - the signing of Wenger, and all credit to him for that. But there are many other things - the ill-fated bond scheme, the propensity to fire off legal letters threatining to sue to any of his critics, (which he did to one fanzine editor), his naked greed and ambition, the signing of Erikkson for England and the farce over Scolari etc etc. Of course he has tried to appear in the media as the driving force behind Arsenal's improvements, but that is in large part PR. His judgment is not sound, and he is obsessed by the American Football model for English clubs. It is ridiculous to praise his contribution to Arsenal, when it is exactly the other way round - as a bankrupt businessman, Arsenal have saved him, and he has prospered to the tune of £50 -60 million thanks to our club. He has been extremely fortunate, and should go down on his knees to thank Arsenal for enriching him. So a little less of the rose tinted specs please.
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into the red
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Furthermore, it would be even worse if he now proceeds to go against the wishes of the board and start plotting from the sidelines, something for his personal gain. He was thrown out not for having an opinon that Kranky should come in - there is nothing wrong with having an opinion - but for acting with Kranky, without telling his fellow board members. That is underhand and arrogant, and we are better off without him. Dein is one of those who thinks that he alone knows what is best for Arsenal (and just so happens to co-incide with his personal ambition).
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Arsenal Analysis
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After reading all the arguments I'm inclined to be with Arsenal Analysis on this one. I trust Arsene! He is obviously a great friend of Dein's, but that doesn't mean he thinks he is right. If Wenger renews his contract then this will be a thumbs up to Hill-Wood. I also don't believe that Arsene will remain silent on the subject. We'll know soon enough what his view is. One thing is for sure. I'd trust Wenger's view of what's best ahead of either Will-Wood or Dein!!Arsenal Analysis wrote:Arsene Wenger holds the keys to Arsenal's doors! If he decides to support Dein and Kroenke then the board have to go not Dein.
From a fans point of view this is very possible but from a board's point not. They probably and rightly think that no one person is bigger than the club. They built the stadium as a long term legacy not a quick fix.
Wenger won't be in charge forever. In this respect I think that Wenger is quite like the board. Building on youth, building for the future and putting in place systems and foudations that will last long after Wenger leaves.
With investment the pressure to get results quick will be huge. That's not how Wenger operates.
Also the board brings a way to do the right thing that maybe an american newcomer to the sport won't appreciate. They seem very, very old fashioned but for our club seems to be quite suited.
Wenger won't be in charge forever. In this respect I think that Wenger is quite like the board. Building on youth, building for the future and putting in place systems and foudations that will last long after Wenger leaves.
With investment the pressure to get results quick will be huge. That's not how Wenger operates.
Also the board brings a way to do the right thing that maybe an american newcomer to the sport won't appreciate. They seem very, very old fashioned but for our club seems to be quite suited.
